Means for positioning impellers in bowls of drilled well rotary pumps



J. HAIT MalyC 16, 1933.

IONI

WEL led Aug VENTO? JAMES M. HAH' A''TORNEY m m wurm WIM I, i m .MM

. x, IHmi Patented May i6, i933 NETE STTES eren JAMES M. HAII, OE LOSANGELES, CALIFORNIA T his invention relates to drilled well rotary pumpsand deals with a means for accurately positioning the impellers in thebowls of such pumps.

In pumps of this nature it is known that the impeller or, in the case ofa mutliple unit pump, the impellers, must be accurately positionedwithin their respective bowls in order to produce an efficient pump andavoid other objectionable features to be hereinafter mentioned.

A pump of this nature, broadly speaking, comprises a plurality of bowlsinterconnected in a conventional manner with a line shaft extendingthrough the bowls and having impellers mounted upon the shaft and solocated upon the shaft as tol revolve in each bowl.

T he usual shop practice is to fit each impeller with a certain amountof vertical movement in the bowl generally termed lateral However, indeep wells where a considerable 4length of line shaft is used, thethrust load caused by the lifted weight of fluid causes Athe impellersto lower to some indeterminate position7 ciency of the pump butoftentimes introduces friction by the impellers riding upon the bowls.

A large percentage of this reduction in efficiency is caused by the lackof registration of the impeller port with the port in the bowl which isbrought about by relative movement of the impeller with respect to thebowl. ln order to overcome this, certain types of pumps have beenproduced with the port in the impeller of larger vertical dimen sionthan the port in the bowl. This, however` will be recognized as aninherent defect in the design of a pump of this nature 0 since it isknown that if the port inthe impeller and the port in the bowl are ofident-ical dimensions and are operated in exact registration, thepumping efficiency is materially increased.

ft is the purpose of this invention to provide means for overcoming theabove mentioned. objectionable features in pumps of the characterdescribed. The present invention deals with subject matter similar tothat of my co-pending application Serial which not only may lower theeffi' BOWLS OF DBILLED WELL ROTARY PUMPS 6, 1931. Seria] No. 559,408.

No. 512,763, filed February 2, 1931, entitled Means for verticallypositioning the shaft in a rotary pump, and provides an improvement inthe means for such a purpose. Broadly speaking, the means employedconsistsl of an electrical circuit having indicating means on thesurface which operate to' indicate when the shaft with the impellers forany reason lowers with respect to the bowls. The means employed for thispurpose comprises a source of potential, preferably a battery, and asingle conductor leading from said source yof potential to a contactterminal positioned relatively close to the bowls and impeller, and inactual practice is preferably placed below the lower end of the shaft inthe lower end of the bearing for the shaft. rThe circuit is. completedthrough the shaft or the pump tubing to the surface. On the surface Iprovide a visual or an audible indicator, or both, if desired, forindicating when the circuit is closed. The advantages of such anarrangement evidently lie in the fact that the shaft may be accuratelypositioned when running under full load and the response of the systemis immediate and definite, which enables the operator to definitelydetermine any misadjustment of the impellers in the bowls. am aware thatin certain wells the fluid handled may contain ingredients which wouldrender the fluid as a fair conductor of electricity. Since in practiceit is necessary to place the contact terminals a short distance apart inorder to permit of slight movement only of the impellers with respect tothe bowls, any conductivity of the well fluid might be objectionable.therefore propose in one form of my invention to maintain the contactterminals in a dry pocket. in another form wherein the well fluid wouldintroduce no objection as to conductivity, f provide contact pointswhich may operate directly in the fluid or, in case the bearing islubricated. may operate in the lubricant supplied to the bearing.

The objects of this invent-ion, therefore, are to provide an electricalsystem for positioning impellers in bowls of drilled well pumps and toprovide an arrangement of contacts for this purpose. @ther objects andadvantages will become apparent as the description proceeds inconjunction with the drawing, in which: l

Fig. 1 is a vertical elevation partly in section showing how myinvention would be applied in an installation of a pump of the characterdescribed;

Fi 2 is an enlarged vertical section showing one form of my contactarrangement; y

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing another form of my contactarrangement; and v Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken on line 4 4 ofFig. 2. Y 1

Referring to Fig. 1 wherein ll have illustrated my invention inconjunction with a pump of the character described, A desig-v nates thepower head, B the casing in the well, C the discharge conduit leadingfrom the pump, D the shaft protective tubing and E the shaftdriven bythe power head. For the purposes of illustration l have shown aplurality of pump bowls generally designated F.

\ These pump bowls are connected to the discharge conduit C by means ofa special top fitting 11 and in turn support a suction pipe 12 having astrainer 13 on the lower end thereof by means of abase fitting 14. It isto be understood that the base fitting 14 carries the bearing for thelower' end ofthe shaft E and that my invention may be embodied in thisfitting or the fitting 11. Also extending down the well within the casinB and externally of the discharge fitting l provide a conductor 15 whichis properly insulated for the purpose. The conductor 15 for purposes ofillustration is shown as extending to and entering the base fitting 14at its lower end and as passing through the base plate 16 of the powerhead A, after which it is conveniently connected in any suitable mannerto a conductor 17 which leads to a potential source 18 (preferably abattery).

The circuit continues through a switch 19,-

an indicator 20 which may be an ammeter or an audible indicator, bac-kto the casing of the power head A and is attached thereto as shown at21. The circuit is thus seen to extend from the source 18 through theconductor 17 down to the base fitting 14 by means of the'conductor 15,through contact points diagrammatically illustrated and designated 22,then up through the shaft E orthe associated conduits of the pump andback to the casing of the power head A, from where it returns throughthe `indicator 20 and the switch 19 to the source 18. The switch 19 isincorporated for breaking the'crcuit when the detecting system is not inuse and thus preventing possible electrolysis and Vcorrosion of thecontact points. The form of the contact members 22 shown in Fig. 2 willnow be described. This form has been designed to Lacasse operate in adry condition ormore specifically in an air pocket formed in the lowerend of the shaft E. lt is evident that the air pocket 26 of the pocket asuitable contact member 27 is screwthreadedly mounted. A lower contactmember 28 is yieldably suported upon an insulation member 29 byvmeans ofa spring 30. The yieldably supported contact'member permits the shaft tolower beyond the point of contact without bringing the full load of theshaft upon the contact points, and thus .preserves their usefulness. Thecontact member 28 is connected to the conductor 15, which extendsthrough anupper hollow portion 29 of the member 29 outwardly through anaperture 30 into a passage 23 in one of the webs 23 and upwardly to thesurface, as before stated. Means are provided -for mounting the member29 in the lower end of the hub 14', such means preferably consisting ofa nut 32 screwthreadedly mounted in the lower end of the hub 14 as shownat 33 and providedwith a smooth` bore 34 through which the member 29 isadapted to slidably move. A set'screw 32 provides the means ofpositioning the member 29 in the nut 32. This structure permits that thenut 32 may be securely fixed in place, after which the member29 maybeproperly adjusted. In practice the member 29; is adjusted so that thecontact members 27 and 28 will engage lbefore the impellers and thebowls contact in case the shaft stretches. This adjustment would be madewhen the impellers are positioned in the bowls and would be done in theshop when the pump lis assembled.

Tt will be appreciated that yin the pocket 25, no matter whetherlubricant or water is used to lubricate the shaft E in the bushing- 24,a pocket of air will be maintained at the upper end, as shown by theline X-X, which wilralways keep the Contact points 27 and 28 y.

Tn the form shown in Fig. 3 there is no pocket Yon the end of the shaftE and in this form the yieldable contact point ma be placed upon thelower end of the sha instead of upon the lower terminal. .Tn this view,14 designates the. regulation base fitting and 14 indicates the lhubsupported by the webs 23. The shaft E rotates within the hub 14 and thebushing 24 is provided to form a suitable bearing. On the lower end ofthe shaft E, ll mount a screw-threaded nut 35. The nut 35 is hollowed inits upper end as shown at 36 and contains a contact pin 3T slidablymount'ed therein and having a head 38 adapted to slidably Ht within saidhollowed portion 36. Above the head 38 of the pin 3T, I provide acompression spring 39 held therein by means of a screwthreaded member4() mounted in the upper end of the hollow portion 36. This structurewill be recognized as providing a yieldably extending pin 37. The lowercontact member comprises the insulation member 29 having the upperhollow portion 29 into which is fixedly mounted l5 is attached to thepin 43 and extends outwardly through the aperture 30 and through thepassage 23 in one of the webs 23 in the same manner as described withrespect to Fig. 2. The member 29 is adjustably mounted in the lower endof the hub 14 in a manner identical to that described in Fig. 2 andcomprises the nut 32 screwthreadedly mounted therein as shown at 33 andhaving a smooth bore 34. The set screw 32 serves to hold the insulationmember 29 adjustably fixed within the bore 34. This form, as beforestated, is adapted to operate under wet conditions, that is, the contactpoints 37 and 43 may be submerged either under lubricant or well fluid.

In using my invention the pump would be installed in the usual mannerwith the electrical circuit incorporated as described.

After the installation and while the pump was running under full load,the shaft would be lowered until the circuit was closed. This wouldindicate that the impellers were too low in the bowls, since the contactpoints had been previously set in the shop with a certain spacing. Theshaft would then be raised until the prescribed spacing of the contactpoints had been obtained and the pump would be there set to operate atfull efficiency. If. for any reason, the shaft again lowers more thanthe spacing of the contact points, the contact points will engage andclose the circuit, which will be indicated on the surface and the shaftmay again be raised into proper position. The advantages of electricallyindicating when the shaft is out of -proper position are obvious andreside largely in the immediate and definite response of such a meanstogether with the accuracy obtainable by such immediate response. Theeconomy of such a system and the ease of operation especially in deepwells are also to be considered as important factors of my invention.

The invention as above described has all the advantages hereinbeforepointed out and is highly efficient in operation.` Although I have shownand described my invention as embodying two forms, nevertheless I amaware that other forms may be devised which would depart from thespecific structure .shown but which would depend for operaa contact pin43. The conductorr tion upon the principle embodied in this invention. Itherefore intend this disclosure to include all such forms of theprinciple disclosed which come within the scope of the disclosure andthe purview of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

l. In a pump of the character described: a vertical shaft havingimpellers mounted thereon, opening pocket at the lower end thereof;bowls corresponding to the impellers and means for positioning saidimpellers in saidl bowls, said means comprising an open electricalcircuit having spaced contact members disposed within said pocket, saidcontact members being adapted to close said circuit upon the lowering ofsaid shaft; and means for indicating when said circuit is closed.

2. In a pump of the character described: a vertical shaft havingimpellers mounted thereon, said shaft having a downwardly opening cup atthe lower end thereof; bowls corresponding to the impellers and meansfor positioning said impellers in said bowls, said means comprising anopen electrical circuit having spaced contact members disposed withinsaid cup, said contact members being adapted to close said circuit uponthe lowering of said shaft, one of said contactmembers being yieldablysupported; and.

means for indicating when said circuit is closed.

3. In a pump of the character described, a vertical shaft, a basefitting for said shaft forming a chamber below the lower end of saidshaft, impellers mounted on said shaft, bowls corresponding to theimpellers, a bushing in said base fitting closing said chamber, anelectric contact member carried on said shaft, an insulated contactmember carried on the bushing extending into said chamber, andelectrical means operable on closing of said contacts in said chamber.

4. In a pump of the character described: a vertical shaft; a basefitting for said shaft forming a chamber below the lower end of saidshaft; impellers mounted on said shaft; bowls corresponding to theimpellers; closure means in said base fitting closing said chamber; anelectric contact member carried' on said shaft; an insulated contactmember supported by said base fitting and extending into said chamber;and electrical means operable on closing of said contacts in saidchamber.

5. In a pump of the character described: a vertical shaft; a basefitting for said shaft forming a chamber below the lower end of saidshaft; impellers mounted on said shaft: bowls corresponding to theimpellers; closure means in lsaid base fitting closing said chamber; anelectric contact member carried on shaft; another electric contactmember said shaft having a downwardly iis 4 moesen,

supported by said base itting and having a contact surface insubstantial alignment with said first mentioned contact member;insulating means for maintaining anon- 5 conductive relation betweensaid contact members except when they are in engagement with each other;and electrical means operable on inter-engagement of said contactmembers.

1o 6. lin a pump of the character described: a suspended shaft havingimpellers mount" ed thereon; bowls corresponding to the impellers; a.fitting chambered so as to surround a part of the suspended portion ofsaid shaft near the lower end thereof means for positioning saidimpellers in said bowls comprising an open electrical circuit havingspaced contact members disposed within said chambered fitting, saidcontact members being adapted to close said circuit upon the lowering ofsaid shaft; and means for indil eating when said circuit is closed.

lln testimony whereof, ll have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles,California, this 19th day of August, 1931.

JAMES M. HAll'l.

